Washington, DC, has surpassed Los Angeles as the US city with the worst traffic, in annual rankings from Consumer Affairs.
According to traffic data from the 50 biggest metropolitan areas in the nation, the US capital's drivers spend more time in traffic than in any other city, with average daily commute times of 33.4 minutes.
Washington's average length of weekday congestion is six hours and 35 minutes, second only to Los Angeles, according to the report. That adds up to 71 days' worth of sitting in traffic.
Miami, San Francisco, and Atlanta were named cities with the worst cases of congested roads in the country, while Denver, Boston, Portland (Oregon), Chicago, and Austin were hailed as the best in the US.
Sharing its findings, Consumer Affairs noted, "The cities with the worst traffic in America are among the cities with the highest economic output.”
That is because a region with a growing economy will attract new residents while also being home to the current ones.
With notorious traffic jams, Los Angeles is still the city that has the most congestion, with almost eight hours of traffic each day; however, the average commute time in the City of Angels is just over 30 minutes.
President Donald Trump's orders that prompted federal workers to return to their offices after years of work from home have also contributed to Washington's new top spot.
While more people in the region are taking public transportation on weekdays than during the pandemic, bus and train use is still well below 2019 levels.
The cities with the least traffic congestion in the rankings are Rochester, Salt Lake City, and Cleveland.
Those cities were once "centres of industry," and since putting down their crowns, they have more road space for vehicles.
